My return to USA (oosa, oosa, oosa) almost didn’t happen. We were floating around the pools in Seminyak ordering plates of foods, ice cream, cocktails. I walked out to see my final sunset on Legian Beach. I walked and wandered northward for my final massage. And then boarded my overnight flight bound for Shanghai and then San Francisco.

As uneventful as it was, I am not sure if I’ve ever slept better in my life. There may have been a recognition that something was ending, a chapter of my life perhaps…certainly the year. I unceremoniously rejoiced as I also let it be known to myself that there was a layer to be accepted, whether it would be consciously now or at another point. Let’s just make it to Pudong.

In typical form, I ate myself through the airport as time passed. I considered taking out my guitar and looked askance at the mix of mainland Chinese and SF tech bros/outdoorsy types boarding the plane.

The last few months in SE Asia have been more intense than I had anticipated or planned for, so much moving around from place to place. It has been opening but also impossible to plant any real roots, not just in terms of stability in routine but also what I want to do.

I’ve felt myself flex, grow older, want to do less, and mostly become okay with my choices and getting more in touch with my “wants.”

Goodbye, 2016. You were a great year, the best year. It hasn’t been an easy or straight path, but I think I’m at least finding the start of it.